US authorities have ordered the recall of some 8.7 million pounds of meat from ‘diseased and unsound’ animals from Northern Californian meat processor, Rancho Feeding Corporation.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ordered the recall as it found the company to be processing diseased and unhealthy animals without a full federal inspection, CNN reports.
The US Department stated that Rancho Feeding Corporation had "processed diseased and unsound animals” and had engaged in these activities “without the benefit or full benefit of federal inspection."
"Thus, the products are adulterated,” said the FSIS. “…They are unsound, unwholesome or otherwise are unfit for human food and must be removed from commerce."
The FSIS stressed that although no illnesses have been reported at this stage from the consumption of the meat – which has already reached retailers in Florida, Illinois, Texas and California – it noted that the products had the potential to cause ‘serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
The recall marks the second time this year that the FSIS has ordered the Rancho Feeding Corporation to take its products off the shelves. Just last month, the company was ordered to recall 40,000 pounds of meat products that were deemed unfit for human consumption, as those products also did not undergo a full inspection by the authority.